WHERE'S WARD?

DON'T expect to see Gemma Ward[/b] on the catwalks this season - the supermodel is taking a two-month sabbatical from modelling to star in The Black Balloon, a film set in her native Australia. We told you last September that the 19-year-old was keen to pursue a career in film, after making her debut in 2001's Pink Pyjamas, and it seems her dream is now becoming reality. One of the highest profile models in the world, Ward opened many of the major shows last season and her elfin looks will certainly be missed this year. She plans to bypass every show except for Paris's ready-to-wear collections. The face of numerous campaigns, including Calvin Klein, Prada and Yves Saint Laurent, Ward shot to fame at the age of 16, when she was the youngest chosen to be in a Vogue shoot of nine It-girls of the modelling world, including Daria Werbowy, Gisele Bündchen and Karolina Kurkova. Just months later, British photographer Nick Knight described her as, "one of the very, very few models who look as though they come from another dimension". Speaking of her forthcoming foray into the film world, Ward's spokeswoman told WWD: "She's having a riot as it's a project she's been working on for years and it's an all-Australian crew." The film, directed by Elissa Down and starring Toni Colette, is about an adolescent boy's struggle to deal with his autistic brother. Ward takes on the role of the adolescent's girlfriend, Jackie. (January 19 2007, AM)Louise Roe